Damsel in Distress

Craiglwyd Springs 7.10.17


By 10am the mornings rain had stopped leaving the mountains behind Penmeanmawr shrouded in a mist that rolled across the tops momentarily revealing the rocky outcrops and their white woolly occupants which were feeding precariously on the steep sided slopes, a beautiful background to the lake where I was to experience my first go at fly fishing

My instructor with 40yrs experience under his belt was the ever redoubtable Joker, a man who I greatly respect for his skill in all types of fishing and his willingness to share his knowledge while at the same time being completely nuts and barking mad

After a visit to the post office to buy a licence for the day I met up with Joe at Penmeanmawr and jumped in his van to travel the short distance to the lake where we started off with half an hour of casting instruction using just the line without a fly in case I managed to hook myself, personally I think he was more worried about his own preservation

Where's the bail arm  



Once I'd gained a moderation of the skill required to successfully get the line into the water and not wrapped around me Joe added the fly

A Gold Head Damsel was the first one I used



With continued efforts on Joe's part I was finally managing to get the line into the water in a straight line instead of looking like a coil of telephone wire although from time to time I did end up with a bit of a bird's nest

After an hour of tuition the boss left me to it and took up his own rod and it wasn't long before he was into a fish





What's the polite word for smug git    

I was still thrashing away and tying myself in loops trying desperately to suppress the urge of reverting to beach casting when Joe hooked into another fish which danced all across the surface in a magnificent display going from left to right and completely leaving the water before spitting the hook..... Shame  

Then five minutes later he was holding his second fish  



I decided to change my fly to a Damsel Fritz which wouldn't  have looked out of place in Santa's grotto  



By now I had learnt to check I wasnt actually standing on the line before casting (most important it would seem  ) and was slowly perfecting the art and thoroughly enjoying the feeling of getting the timing correct on each cast until the final one when I'd either not left myself enough line out to allow the line to land smoothly on the water or panicked when I saw the fly heading straight towards my face and ruined the timing by flicking it back out as soon as possible which always resulted in the line going slack and ending up a total flop

As I was gaining confidence and a little more distance Joe landed his third  



The arm was beginning to ache a little now, a rest was in order so I poured us both a coffee from the flask and the choccy bics were opened up
I also decided to change the fish repellent Christmas cracker for a floating foam Beatle which would stay on the surface and hopefully attract a bite or two as it drifted around.



The change of tactics soon paid off with a big splash and a lunge the Rainbow Trout took the Beatle and made off across the water taking me totally by surprise and putting a hell of a bend in the rod
Struggling to keep the line tight as the fish darted this way and that in an attempt to escape I brought him in to the bank where Joe was waiting with the net

Got him





As my casting improved so did my confidence and so did the distance but alas I didn't manage to hook or even tempt another fish unlike Joe who caught another two



The rain had moved back in and was getting steadily heavier so it was a good time to pack up, besides the choccy bics would get soggy




Thanks for a great day out Joe I can't wait to go again

Anytime mate

Well done gentlmen.  Some nice fish a new skill set Dave 

Sounds like when my bruv takes me for a session thrashing the water!

Great read!

Great report and pictures.

I've never felt the urge to try fly fishing, but you may have just convinced me otherwise.

There's a trout fishery very close to where I live, but for some reason you're not allowed to fly fish, only float or ledger.

Well done on a great report the smile says it all.

Kingfisher wrote:

Great report and pictures.

I've never felt the urge to try fly fishing, but you may have just convinced me otherwise.

There's a trout fishery very close to where I live, but for some reason you're not allowed to fly fish, only float or ledger.

Worried about passers by perhaps
I actually caught myself in the back of the head once but luckily it got my hood

Great stuff chaps cracking trout

Worried about passers by perhaps Question wrote:

Ah never thought of that. I think you may be right, it is very close to a pathway.

Kingfisher wrote:

Ah never thought of that. I think you may be right, it is very close to a pathway.

I'm not just a pretty face you know
No comments

Logger wrote:

Kingfisher wrote:

Ah never thought of that. I think you may be right, it is very close to a pathway.

I'm not just a pretty face you know
No comments

Haha,you've already admitted it

A good day,and you caught a fish,not a bad day out in my opinion.
It's like Mary said "You need to get the rythum man"

Great report. Looks like u had a good day out with the added bonus of a fish

Dyl wrote:

Great report. Looks like u had a good day out with the added  bonus of a fish

A great day